Did Vikes break up Pats’ possible pick of Percy?

Did the Minnesota Vikings screw up the Patriots’ plans to draft Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin? According to this story, they just might have.

Sid Hartman writes in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the Patriots were going to take Harvin with the No. 23 overall pick this past weekend, but Minnesota found out about what New England was going to do and decided to take him with the 22nd overall selection instead — thanks to a little sleuthing.

Hartman reports the Patriots worked out Harvin the day after Vikings coach Brad Childress visited him, and New England apparently indicated to Harvin they would draft him. Harvin then tipped his hand to Minnesota. Hartman said the Patriots — and former Vikings’ assistant Chad O’Shea, who joined New England’s staff this past offseason — believed that after several well-publicized negative incidents involving other players, Minnesota would want nothing to do with a guy like Harvin who had character issues of his own, including a positive drug test.

“New England was right in there. They were right behind us [with the 23rd pick],” Minnesota coach Brad Childress told reporters. “No, they didn’t think we’d take him [because of off-the-field] issues. Remember, they have our receivers coach there now. So they thought they could hold … and he’d come to them.

“They were down there working him out the day after I was there. And [Harvin] wasn’t supposed to tell anybody, and I was trying to pull that out of him, who that was. So, it was a little cat-and-mouse game that occurred.”

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be the first time the Patriots and Vikings — and Belichick and Childress specifically — locked horns over a personnel decision. Check out some of the back story between the two here.